Chapter Text
Chapter 12: That Night
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The sound of the television in the other room was soothing. I curled beneath the blankets, arms wrapped around a pillow as I listened to the quiet murmurs of the others. The nausea had settled, and my head didn’t throb the way it had earlier in the day. I felt better after Anna helped me shower and after Bryan had made me have some soup. I didn’t want to think about what had happened to my clothes that were covered in vomit.
I jumped when the door to the bedroom opened slowly. Light spilled in behind the person standing in the doorway, illuminating their shape. My eyes wouldn’t focus long enough to determine who it was. I squeezed them shut; afraid the bright light would bring back the headaches.
Soft footsteps crossed the room. Part of me wanted to sit up, but my body hurt so much. Like I’d been in a high-speed car accident. Moving wasn’t in the cards just then.
The mattress dipped as someone sank onto the edge near my feet. A gentle hand settled on my ankle, thumb rubbing in slow circles against my lower calf. My muscles tensed for a second before calm flooded through my body. God knows, I hadn’t had anyone touch me so gently in such a long time.
“Are you awake, Morgan?” I didn’t have to think about who the voice belonged to. That sweet timbre was something that I’d recognize anywhere.
I shifted, my arms clutching the pillow a little tighter. I opened my eyes, letting them readjust to the dimness. The light from the doorway highlighted the shape of his face. I could imagine his ice blue eyes watching me.
“Hmm,” I said softly. “Not really.”
Bryan’s hand moved up just a little on my leg. Still on my ankle, his thumb stroking up and down my shin now. “Do you need anything?”
The care in his voice made my stomach drop a bit. He had been so caring even when he didn’t have to be. He didn’t really know me—neither did Moxley for that matter—but he’d gone out of his way to protect me. To keep me safe. I couldn’t thank him enough for something that might have been small for him but was massively important to me.
“I don’t think so,” I mumbled back. “Just tired. Can’t make my brain shut down.”
“Do you want me to stay with you for a bit?” he asked quietly. “Maybe I can help you relax a little so you can sleep.”
My heart skipped a beat before taking off in a gallop. I heard it thumping in my ears and pressing hard against my ribs. It was almost panic, but not entirely. Something just on the edge of it.
“Okay.”
***
Bryan nodded, even though he was pretty sure she couldn’t see it. He took a deep breath and toed off his shoes before walking around the bed and sitting against the headboard behind her. There was a short distance between them. He reached out to brush his fingertips on the back of her shoulder.
“Roll over onto your back,” he said softly. “And put that pillow behind your head.”
He listened to the sound of the sheets rustling as Morgan rolled onto her back. Her shoulder brushed against his knee as she settled down. She lifted her hair up from beneath her head, draping it over the pillow above her.
“Good girl,” he murmured before reaching out to brush his fingertips along her forehead. “Close your eyes. Put your hands on your stomach, one on top of the other.”
She did as he told her to. His thumb traced over her brow soothingly. He felt her expression relax just as she let out a soft breath.
“I want you to focus on the feeling of my hand on your forehead. Nothing else. Don’t think about anything else but the feeling.” Bryan watched her for a moment, giving her time to sink into the start of something calm. “Good. Now just breathe. In and out slowly. Don’t force it, just breathe and focus on my hand.”
He gently stroked his thumb across her forehead, timing his movements with the cadence of her breathing. He stayed as still as possible otherwise. If he could just help her stop thinking for a few minutes so she could sleep, he’d be happy. She deserved some peaceful rest after everything.
It took ten minutes for Morgan’s body to sink into the mattress. Bryan knew the moment that her muscles let go and relaxed. Her breathing grew deeper, slower. Yet he kept his thumb brushing gently along her forehead. He rationalized that she might wake up if he didn’t.
***
Anna sat against the arm of the sofa with her eyes fixed on the door leading into Morgan’s bedroom. She clutched a pillow to her chest as she thought about what was going to happen when they had to go back to their lives. Morgan wouldn’t go home with her. No. She’d get on a flight to Houston and walk right back into the horrors that Sammy would bestow on her.
“I wish I could get her to stay away,” she said softly. “I don’t know what it going to take to make her leave him. For good.”
Moxley grunted. “Bry and I will give it a try, talking to her. We can be very persuasive.”
“She won’t listen to me. What makes you think she’s going to listen to you two?”
He grinned at Anna, stretching one arm out on the back of the sofa. “You don’t know the two of us very well, cupcake. I know for a fact that Bryan isn’t going to just step back and let her walk right back into everything with Guevara. He will drag her back to Aberdeen if that’s what it takes.”
Anna felt a small smile curve her lips. Something burned in the bit of her stomach, but she couldn’t explain it. It was somewhere between hope and a deeply sad desperation. “Why are you guys doing this?”
Moxley looked for a moment like he didn’t know what to say. “It’s fucking crazy, isn’t it?” He chuckled nervously. “Honestly, I don’t know what it is. Not at the heart of it. But I know that there’s nothing that’s going to get in our way of keeping her safe from him. You, too, just so you know.”
“He’s good with her,” she replied quietly, surprisedly. “I don’t think anyone has ever been like that to her. That sort of firm gentleness if that makes any sense.”
“Perfect sense, cupcake,” Moxley said, reaching out to pat Anna’s knee. “Don’t worry. You’re not alone in this anymore.”
Anna sighed. “I don’t know how to help her, Mox. I’ve never known how to help her.”
Moxley gestured her toward him. He draped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a firm squeeze before dropping a brotherly kiss on the top of her head. “You’ve never given up on her. That’s more help than you know, Jay.”
***
Bryan sat back against the headboard; his focus turned on Morgan. He’d barely looked away from her since she’d settled into sleep beside him. His chest tightened as he watched her chest rise and fall with each slow, smooth breath. It was a moment of peace for her, and he gently swept his fingers along her hair, brushing it back from her face.
“I don’t know what he did to you, but I swear… Sammy Guevara won’t ever lay a hand on you again, Morgan. It’ll happen over my dead body.”
He’d no more than said the words when Morgan twitched violently. Her brow furrowed, and her face scrunched in something like pain. She clutched at the sheets draped over her, twisting them in her fingers. Her mouth fell open in a silent scream just before she wailed. It was a sound of intense pain. Of fear and terror. Of agony.
Bryan moved faster than he could think. He ripped the sheets away from her before snatching her up against him. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her flush against his chest. He held her firmly, tightly, but gently.
“Morgan,” he said calmly, his lips against her ear. “You can hear me. You are safe. I’ve got you. You’re safe. It’s Bryan. I’ve got you.”
She thrashed against his hold, throwing her head back hard enough that she would have broken his nose if he hadn’t moved. Her legs kicked. Her hands clawed at his forearms, nails digging in hard enough to draw blood. Bryan did little more than flinch as she tore into his flesh. His head vibrated with the wails and screams that tore from her throat.
“Shh. Shh,” he soothed. His voice was calm but solid. Commanding. “Hush. Stop fighting. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
Bryan didn’t look up when he heard the commotion at the doorway. He knew that Morgan’s screams would have brought Anna and Moxley running. The two of them stumbled into the room, one after the other. Anna took two steps toward the bed before Moxley reached out and stopped her with a hand on her wrist.
“Let me fucking go!” she shouted at him, yanking hard.
Morgan screamed again, legs thrashing and kicking. Bryan’s arms hugged her against his chest as he held her legs down with his ankles on top of hers. He rested his chin on her shoulder, keeping his mouth next to her ear.
“You can hear me, Morgan. You can hear me.” His words came out almost stern, but with a soft edge to them. He closed his eyes and tucked his face against her neck. “You’re safe, bunny. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I’ve got you.”
Her body shuddered, giving one last whining thrash before she sank back against Bryan’s chest. He breathed deeply, rocking her side to side gently.
***
It felt like I couldn’t get away. Every step took enormous effort. Pain lanced through my limbs. My flesh seemed to flay off my bones. Terror ran like venom through my veins, keeping me locked into this continuing spiral of torture that dragged me further and further down. I couldn’t breathe. My throat closed until I could only choke, desperate for air. The screams died against my vocal cords.
I was alone. Totally and completely alone.
You can hear me, Morgan.
The words echoed through me, shuddering along my bones. They were somewhere so far away. Barely there. Almost lost in the haze of pain that continued to rocket through every cell of my body.
You can hear me.
I felt myself turn in circles, searching. Hoping to find the source of those words. I knew them. They were so close, like a name dancing just at the front of my mind but a breath out of reach. I ran, trying to find them. The ground rolled beneath my feet, tripping me and dragging me into something like quicksand. Every step bogged me further and further down.
I’ve got you.
A deep, heavy scream ripped through my chest. It sent blood pouring from my lips as my throat ripped open. Every muscle in my body tensed, tightening until it felt as if my bones would shatter from the force. It was an agony that would never end. My own personal hell that would hold me, enfold me in its arms until it had crushed me completely.
You’re safe, bunny.
As suddenly as the pain began, it vanished. It rushed away and left nothing but a numb, aching hollowness behind. What had been tears of terror and agony fell into wailing sobs of emptiness.
***
Moxley stood behind Anna, watching from the door as Bryan restrained Morgan against his chest. Even across the distance, he could tell that his hold on her was firm but gentle. He held her and spoke calmly against her cheek.
“Just given him a second,” Moxley said lowly. Anna tried to yank her arm away from his hold on her wrist, but he held on with just enough strength to keep her from getting any further.
“Look at her,” she hissed back at him. For a moment, she was overcome with the urge to slap him just to get him to let go. “She’s in pain.”
He sighed and tugged Anna back toward him. “Just… be patient. Give him a chance.”
Moxley sucked in a deep breath as he watched Morgan slowly stop thrashing in terror. His heart raced in his chest as he saw Bryan’s hold loosen. Fingers gently slipped around her wrists, crossing her arms over her chest gently. Bryan’s chin dropped onto her shoulder, and his voice dipped too low for them to hear.
“See,” Moxley said softly after a few moments. “I told you.”
***
Bryan sighed in relief as he tilted his face into the curve of Morgan’s neck. Her skin carried a deep warmth and a faint scent of salt from her nightmare-conjured sweat. He closed his eyes and made himself take one slow breath after another as he counted her heartbeats beneath the pads of his fingers. She trembled against his chest, faint sobs ripping from her lungs as tears ran hot down her cheeks.
“It’s okay,” he whispered against her ear. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
He set his chin against the curve of her shoulder, fighting the urge to press a kiss against the soft sweep of her throat. A heavy sense of relief rushed through him as he felt her breathing slow.
“What?” Morgan’s voice was small, almost broken. It was thick with the tears that still raced down her cheeks. “What’re you doing?”
The sound of her voice was sweet against his ears. He tried to wipe the memory of her thrashing in deep and wounding pain in her sleep. Bryan gave himself just a moment more before he carefully let go of her wrists. He let his fingertips skim up her forearms before setting his palms against the bed beside him.
“I came to sit with you,” he murmured, “and you started having a nightmare. You were thrashing and… I didn’t want you to hurt yourself.”
***
I looked from Bryan toward Anna and Moxley standing in the doorway. My friend nodded in confirmation of his words. Something warm settled deep against my spine as I turned my attention back to the man holding me between his legs, my back pressed against his chest. If I closed my eyes and focused, I almost thought that I could feel his heartbeat somewhere near by shoulder blade.
“I…” The words were caught in my throat. I couldn’t make my brain function. My tongue was stuck against the roof of my mouth. “I…Bry…”
“Shh, it’s okay, Morgan,” he said, his mouth right next to my ear. His voice was that low and steady tone that calmed the rush of adrenaline through my veins. “There’s nothing to feel guilty or embarrassed about. Do you understand?”
My head nodded of its own accord. Tears burned against my eyelids. Before… with Sammy… I shuddered, my entire body trembling with something between fear and shame. Bryan’s fingertips brushed against my wrist, and I jerked. Muscle memory dragged my body in tightly, pulling my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. I moved to press my face against my knees.
Bryan’s fingers ghosted up my arm until they cupped against my chin, stopping me from hiding. He gently turned my head until I was looking into his crisp blue eyes. “You’re safe, Morgan. You are safe with me. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re safe. Tell me you understand.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. The tears swelled, slipping down my cheeks. The intensity of it took my breath, shoving the air out of my lungs. It punched through my chest as if it would rip me into pieces.
The fingers settled against my chin tightened just a bit. His voice came low and steady. “You. Are. Safe. And it’s okay to feel the way you are.” Bryan’s thumb stroked gently over my jaw. “There’s nothing wrong with you. And I’m not upset or disappointed with you. If you want me to give you space, I’ll move. I’ll leave the room. If you want to be alone, we’ll let you be alone. I promise you… Mox, Anna, and I are going to take care of you. Tell me you understand, Morgan.”
I licked my lips, trying to force my tongue to form words. Bryan was a blur through the tears that still poured down my face. I ached. And I wanted so badly to believe that I could be safe. That I could rely on Bryan Danielson and his promises.
“Please,” he said softly, almost to himself. His next words were stronger, clearer. “Tell me you understand.”
“I…” My voice broke in my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut, cleared my throat, and tried again. “I-I understand, Bryan.”
Bryan’s finger and thumb squeezed my chin gently. “Good girl,” he praised, a faint smile on his lips. “Good girl.”